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Choosing the Right Work Environment
Looking for a job can be a scary process. We're very focused on
saying the right thing, presenting our credentials, convincing
the interviewers that we're the right person for the job. But
sometimes it's important to take a step back and look at the
environment we're trying to enter.
Take a look at the employees. Are they interacting in a positive
way? Do they look happy, content? Or do you see a lot of
stressed out faces? When you have to interact with employees
before or after your job interviews, is it easy? Or does it seem
difficult to relate?
Does the environment have the quiet buzz of activity, or is it
Work Environment TidbitsColor is a big factor effecting all indoor environments. Since most of us spend many hours each day at work, the .....
deathly quiet? On the flip side, do you hear radios playing? You
may be comfortable with that, or you may be someone whose
concentration is disturbed by that type of background noise.
Look at the make-up of the employees. If you live in a racially
and ethnically diverse area, does the employee population
reflect that? Is there a large proportion of women and
minorities in positions of authority? Or is the upper echelon of
the company primarily white and male? Even if you are a white
male, you might want to question that; a company structure that
doesn't reflect today's social values of diversity and
opportunity could be a very conservative, strict environment
without a lot of upward mobility.
What about the age range of the employees? Do they range from
high school age to retirement age? If you don't see a lot of
older people, you may be looking at an ordinary make-up for,
say, a high-tech industry, or you may be looking at age
discrimination.
It's ordinarily not a good idea to be quizzing prospective
employers about pay and benefits during your first interview;
but before you sign on the dotted line, you need to know what
those are, and you need to make sure they're adequate for your
needs. Figure out what your expenses are, and make sure your
basic pay - without any promised overtime pay or bonuses -
covers those expenses. Don't forget to cover a savings plan,
entertainment, and some long-term financial goals. If you're
working full time, there's no reason you should have to live
like a monk.
Does the company have a written policy of periodic evaluation
and raises? If not, it may be extraordinarily hard to earn more
income there.
Certain benefits, like health insurance or HMO coverage, are
getting scarcer; even companies who continue to supply health
care coverage for their employees are requiring larger co-pays
or cutting back on coverage. If that's the case, make sure you
can afford the co-pay, or, if there's no available insurance,
make sure your base salary can at least cover an individual
policy offering catastrophic coverage.
One great company benefit is an education reimbursement for
college and business classes. This could very well signify a
company that offers opportunity for advancement. If you're
hired, take advantage of this benefit; it could be the best
thing you could do for your career.
Whether you're applying for a full time or part time job, it's
important to find out whether the company hires part time help,
and how they treat their help. Do they prorate benefits for part
time people? Do they offer definite work schedules for part time
people, or do they offer part timers twenty hours a week, but
expect them to be available for forty? Not respecting the needs
of part timers is a red flag; this kind of insensitivity
ultimately impacts every employee in one way or another.
Keep your eyes open! Making the right decision about a company
environment can mean the difference between an enjoyable work
day and a miserable one; if you don't manage to read the tea
leaves, you'll probably end up - looking for another job.
Remember,
href="http://www.piworldwide.com/PredictiveIndex/Default.asp">emp
loyers are looking at you as closely as you are looking at
them, to see if you are the right person for their company.
About the author:
Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern
New Hampshire and frequently contributes to
href="http://www.tipsandtopics.com/index.html">Tips and
Topics. She may be reached at
href="mailto:amfredenburg@yahoo.com" style="text-color:
black;">amfredenburg@yahoo.com.
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